For Lack of Better Options
by Madrigal-in-training
Summary: Having determined Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Hertfordshire to be an entirely unsuitable bride for him, Mr. Darcy resolves to find the woman he admires an acceptable husband of high station. Unfortunately, no one manages to reach his high standards for Elizabeth. Darcy x Elizabeth
_**For Lack of Better Options**_

 _Having determined Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Hertfordshire to be an entirely unsuitable bride for him, Mr. Darcy resolves to find the woman he admires an acceptable husband from her station. Unfortunately, no one manages to reach his high standards for Elizabeth. Darcy x Elizabeth_

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Fitzwilliam Darcy was an intelligent and practical man, who proudly upheld his duties as the Master of Pemberley, took care of his beloved younger sister, Georgiana, and readily provided assistance to his good friends. It was on the line of that third duty, that he agreed to come to the village of Meryton in Hertfordshire, to support his friend Bingley in acquiring an estate.

He had been reluctant to come along, as, sparing Bingley, the company was not to his taste, and he was loathe to leave his sister behind, after she was nearly compromised by that bastard Wickham. However, his Aunt Eleanor, the Lady Matlock, had been insistent that some degree of separation between him and his sister would prove beneficial for both. It was her persuasion that ultimately led to Mr. Darcy's settling of Netherfield, wherein he was promptly miserable.

The local citizenry immediately developed a fascination for him and his annual income of ten thousand pounds, which quickly morphed into dislike over his assumed arrogance and indifference. His friend's sister, a Miss Caroline Bingley, had yet to take even the briefest respite from suffocating him in attention and flirtations, and the Hursts proved insipid conversationalists at best. And yet, despite the disagreeable company, Mr. Darcy was in excellent spirits.

The sole cause for his uplifting of emotion was a Miss Elizabeth Bennet, a local country girl with exceedingly fine eyes and razor sharp wit. Despite his own reserved nature, Mr. Darcy had been drawn into many heated discussions with the clever, impertinent gentlewoman, and he had been pleasantly surprised by her intellect and easy confidence at each turn. His heart warmed at the attention and care she had shown to her sick sister, and his mind eased at the soulful melodies she would coax out of Bingley's piano. Her love of nature, and inclination to experience its wonders through long walks, appealed to the naturalist in him, and brought to mind thoughts of introducing her to the wilderness of Pemberley. Indeed, against every reason and judgment- his own sanity, even!- Mr. Darcy could not deny an acute attraction to this lovely woman.

It was this realization that distressed him, for Miss Elizabeth, though not lacking in beauty or accomplishments, was utterly without fortune or consequence. As the mercenary Miss Bingley even noted, with an entirely unattractive triumphant tone, she had an uncle in trade. Worse, barring her eldest sister, Miss Elizabeth's family displayed a distinct lack of manners and severe silliness, especially in the younger girls. Miss Elizabeth Bennet was, undoubtedly and without reserve, an entirely inappropriate choice of bride for him.

Even as he acknowledged this though, Mr. Darcy remained an admirer of the young woman. He could not marry her himself, but he did want her settled well, with a man who could respect and protect her. At the very least, he wanted her far out of the grasp of that insidious, sniveling man that his Aunt chose as Rosings' parson.

As Mr. Darcy had been pursued by the young women of the Ton, and their far more dangerous match-making mothers, for years, he considered himself fairly knowledgeable on the subject of marriage. Certainly he could do no worse than Mrs. Bennet, who was convinced that Mr. Collins was a perfectly acceptable choice for Miss Elizabeth's husband.

Miss Elizabeth would need a husband who was indisputably a gentleman, both by birth and by nature. He would need to be intelligent and well-read, with an extensive, personal library for her to pursue, and a deep appreciation for nature and music. He should have an income of _at least_ four thousand a year to keep Miss Elizabeth in reasonable comfort. (Although, such a man was unlikely to marry a penniless girl, so Mr. Darcy would probably have to arrange a discrete financial transfer on her behalf). He should be an excellent dancer, for Miss Elizabeth loved to dance, but need not necessarily be social himself. Miss Elizabeth was a delicate, lithe woman, so he should be tall and strong, to provide the physical protection that she may need. He would need to love children, be of fit body, and be adequately handsome, for Miss Elizabeth was certainly among the handsomest women of his acquaintance.

And because Mr. Darcy was a merciful man, he also decided that this potential husband live at least two days' ride away from Longbourne, to limit contact with Mrs. Bennet as much as socially acceptable.

None of those criterion was in the least bit flexible, so Mr. Darcy instantly dismissed any potential suitors from Meryton or the surrounding villages. Instead, he mused on his own acquaintances…

Bingley. Entirely unacceptable. The man was already half in love with Miss Elizabeth's older sister, and his own sisters would refuse to treat her kindly. Besides, Darcy suspected that Miss Elizabeth preferred a man who would argue with her rather than shower her in flattery.

Anderson. Too short, and averse to exercise. He would also want to live in the Town, which would make Miss Elizabeth miserable, he was sure.

Wilkins. Pontificates on horseflesh, and in possession of yellow teeth. Miss Elizabeth would spend the entirety of their courtship claiming headaches to remove herself from his scratchy voice.

Darcy scowled, as he continued to mentally list through the names.

Malory. A cad that was very much unworthy of a woman of Miss Elizabeth's caliber. He also reacted poorly to criticism, which would prove a marriage obstruction with Miss Elizabeth's candor.

Peters. A dandy that would spend more time and money on his own clothing, than he would for his wife's. Not that Miss Elizabeth was particularly desirous of fine gowns or expensive jewels, but she should certainly have more of them in her possession than her own husband!

Carlson. A family that had yet to rid itself of the association of the novae riche, and with its eldest son lacking a mind for numbers. Miss Elizabeth's children would likely be left destitute.

They flickered across his mind, like a marching band of poor contenders for a horse race.

Timmons. A perfectly nice gentleman if one had the desire to be bored to death. He would probably be unappreciative of Miss Elizabeth's fine wit as well.

Davidson. Gambling addiction, and a poor dancer. Miss Elizabeth would be acutely ashamed to enter a ball on his arm.

Milton. Nice, unassuming lad of five-and-twenty. In possession of a fortune of five thousand pounds, capable of dancing adequately, and thoroughly earnest in his articulation of a woman's beauty. Miss Elizabeth would probably even admire his skilled violin playing.

Darcy scowled even harder; for some reason, he disliked Milton the most. He tried to recall more details of the younger man, and remembered that in one Cambridge feast, he had _two_ additional servings of fish. Well, now it was clear why Darcy didn't like him. He could never make Miss Elizabeth happy with his overt fondness for fish.

And he was probably dull-witted too. Milton had that sort of face.

Satisfied that he had just saved the woman he loved from an undeniably horrible marriage, Darcy continued to attend to his mental list of potential suitors. A little over an hour later- it would have been quicker, but Darcy had had to look deeply into the lives of several suitors to find proof of their unsuitability- and Darcy was still unsuccessful in finding a potential husband. None of these men could make his Elizabeth happy!

Er, that is to say _Miss_ Elizabeth, as she was not 'his' anything, though she was certainly too good for any other wealthy man of his acquaintance.

Still, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley was an intelligent and practical man, and he would find a solution to this problem. He had attempted to find a worthy man among his pool of acquaintances, and discovered that none were capable of satisfying Miss Elizabeth, which meant he would have to tackle the problem through a different route. If no other man was capable of marrying Miss Elizabeth, then he shall simply have to do so.

 _After all,_ Mr. Darcy noted with quiet satisfaction _, Father always said that if you wanted a job done well, you should do it yourself._

Mr. Darcy drew himself out of his thoughts, shook his head absently, and stood up from his seat.

"Darcy, are you planning to leave to the library?" Bingley asked, looking up from the desk in his study. His friend was busy tackling the load of paperwork generated by an estate, even one of Netherfield's modest size.

"No, I must find Miss Elizabeth," Mr. Darcy replied absently, "I have considered her lack of matrimony in depth, and have concluded that she must marry me, for she shall not find happiness with any other man. If you will excuse me, Bingley."

"Ah, yes, of course," Bingley nodded, graciously waving for him to go. Once Darcy had left though, his friend's words penetrated the number-fogged haze of his mind and snapped him to attention.

"Wait? Darcy, WHAT?!"

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 _My first foray into Pride & Prejudice fanfiction, and one that I hope will be well received by readers. I had long been a fan of this timeless love story, but I had never considered contributing to the pool before now. _


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